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A review by acoffeeandagoodbook
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Holy shit, this book. Black Buck is not at all what I expected, in the best possible way. At first, I wasn't sure it was for me, but as soon as Buck crossed the threshold of start-up tech company, Sumwun, I was sucked in.
Anyone who's worked in a ridiculous start-up will recognise Sumwun. The almost cult-like atmosphere, the chaos, the firm belief that what you're doing is somehow different and special, when really, all these companies are pretty much the same. For Buck, this insidious creep of corporate bullshit is accompanied by an atmosphere of casual racism, that he is forced to excuse if wants to get ahead. The running joke throughout the novel of white people telling Buck he looks exactly like a different famous black man is both smart and funny, and does a brilliant job of showing the daily drip of the racism from his colleagues.
The pace rattles along, and I really struggled to put the book down. In fact, I ended up blasting through it in a day. As Buck inevitably begins to become enamoured by the cult of Sumwun, the money, and his charismatic boss, I almost felt like I was watching a car crash in slow motion. You know the fall is coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it.
And when the fall comes...wow. As the novel draws to a close, things ramp up to an unhinged level. The turns the story takes towards the end are not so much plot twists and hard swerves into a completely different place. Some of these twists and turns did stretch my credulousness a little, but the novel is satirical, so it's no surprise that it's over the top in places.
This book is smart, funny, and fast-paced. It's a hell of a read.
Anyone who's worked in a ridiculous start-up will recognise Sumwun. The almost cult-like atmosphere, the chaos, the firm belief that what you're doing is somehow different and special, when really, all these companies are pretty much the same. For Buck, this insidious creep of corporate bullshit is accompanied by an atmosphere of casual racism, that he is forced to excuse if wants to get ahead. The running joke throughout the novel of white people telling Buck he looks exactly like a different famous black man is both smart and funny, and does a brilliant job of showing the daily drip of the racism from his colleagues.
The pace rattles along, and I really struggled to put the book down. In fact, I ended up blasting through it in a day. As Buck inevitably begins to become enamoured by the cult of Sumwun, the money, and his charismatic boss, I almost felt like I was watching a car crash in slow motion. You know the fall is coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it.
And when the fall comes...wow. As the novel draws to a close, things ramp up to an unhinged level. The turns the story takes towards the end are not so much plot twists and hard swerves into a completely different place. Some of these twists and turns did stretch my credulousness a little, but the novel is satirical, so it's no surprise that it's over the top in places.
This book is smart, funny, and fast-paced. It's a hell of a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Torture, Violence, and Alcohol